Channelview ISD offers hands-on agriculture

Planting seeds of discovery

Behind the brick and mortar exterior of Alice Johnson Junior High School in Channelview, pupils tend their own little patch of paradise.

But it really is not that little -- it is a two-acre science project for the Construction Trades class that has been a labor of love for Trades instructor Nolan Dishongh and the 100 or so pupils who took an abandoned piece of property and turned it into a producing farm.

A science garden was included in the school's plans when Johnson was built in 1977, but the program ended almost as soon as it started.

A crew dug a hole for the pond and built a wooden bridge leading to the garden. But by the early 1990s, the lot was overgrown and choked with weeds, the bridge crumbled, and the pond was mosquito-infested during rainy periods and a cracked, dusty bowl in summer's heat.

"The maintenance people called it the `snake pit,' and no one would go near it," Dishongh said. "They just wanted to bulldoze the site and leave it alone."

Dishongh had other plans, and asked Channelview trustees for permission to use the area for his Construction Trades class.

"The students did all of the work; this is 100 percent student built," he said.

The pupils created crushed granite trails, boardwalks, a small pavilion for outdoor classes, then planted Cypress trees and hundreds of plants. In addition to the orchard and plants, a compost pile provides free, nutrient-rich soil.

Dishongh says the project is a never-ending cycle of planting, maintaining, harvesting or culling and replanting.

"It's holistic learning," he said. "When they work on it, they gain more ownership over it, and they have a sense of pride in the legacy they're leaving behind."

And this sense of ownership doesn't end now that the last school bell of the year has rung.

The garden still has to be tended, and many of the students volunteer each Wednesday during the summer to water, weed and maintain the sanctuary.

Although harvesting the garden will be done by next year's pupils, pupil George Cortez says he'll return as much as he can this summer to maintain the garden.

He has become protective of his favorite teacher, and he even plans to return after he enters nearby Channelview High School.

"He's the best teacher in the school," Cortez said. "After my day is over, I'll probably walk over to see how the kids are treating him."

Although the school occasionally pays for equipment, Dishongh searches for creative ways to cover the program's numerous expenses.

In addition to student labor and grants, the program uses regular fund-raisers, such as the annual fall honey sale and donations from local companies and groups to reduce the program's burden on the district.

"I don't see any difficulty in making this a state-wide program," says Camacho. "It's very teacher-driven, so if you have a teacher on the cutting edge, you could do it."

"This is putting science and math to work."

Dishonghn says he's willing to help districts implement the program.

"A lot of schools want an outdoor learning center," he said, "and if you have the students doing all of the work, it can be relatively cheap to run."

But one facet of the class that can't be reproduced is Dishongh himself: his long hair tied in a neat ponytail and long, rough beard can put some people off, but Camacho says those non-traditional differences appeal to his students.

"He really keeps their attention, he can relate to kids and he's bilingual," she said. "He's really done an outstanding job."

Jessy Moser, a pupil, said he could have moved to Crosby with his family, but decided to stay with other family members so he could take the class. He said he's learned a lot from the program.

"The only reason I came to this school is because of Mr. Dishongh," he said. "He's an awesome teacher."

Cortez has participated in fund-raisers for the program, which has included candy sales and home-made wooden swings for empty tree limbs. Like other pupils,he also encourages other youngsters to get involved in the program, which requires two electives and two hours a day to attend.

"Other kids from the seventh-grade class want to know if they should take this class, and I tell them, `Yeah,' "Cortez said. "It's cooler and you get to work with stuff you've never done before."